One successful way to get a child to finish eating is by tell them to take “Three more bites” and continue with those prompts. Life works along the same principle. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by how large a project is, and unfortunately many times we instead choose to avoid even starting them. Things pile up, and then we feel unproductive and procrastination sets in.
If we approach things one bite at a time, something amazing happens in our brains and before we know it, we move full steam ahead and once that very first project is completed, regardless of how small it is, our sights are focused on the next. It’s the beginning that is the most difficult. Even AA meetings quote “One Day At A Time” and sometimes one minute at a time is how we need to approach life.
Is there a personal goal you’ve been putting off, such as “I need to start going to the gym”? Maybe if you just take 5 minutes to do some stretches or leg lifts, that real motivation could actually kick in. Even if it doesn’t try again the very next time your mind brings up the subject (and you know it will if it’s been a nagging thought) do another 5 minutes. Before you know it, you already have a routine in play!
Changing careers can be the same thing. Do we like our jobs or are we spending a third of our lives doing something we can’t stand? What job would your soul be happy with? Acknowledging what it is can be step one. But don’t quit your job in search of it. Start with research and find out what comes next. You might surprise yourself at the motivation that kicks in once you start, but approach it one step at a time. “I definitely didn’t think I’d make it to the top when I started my hike”, said Joanna, “but many steps later, there I was! Love what you’re doing!” How many times have you said to yourself, “I should have done this a long time ago”? It always begins with step one, no matter how small the step.
Feeding our souls by pursuing our passions can lead to amazing things and produce a feeling of being alive that many people lose while running the rat race. Just one step today can begin that journey no matter how small. A child struggling to read words into sentences yearns to be able to read easily. But that struggle is the only thing that will get them there. Once they do, it opens up a whole new world for them. It is no different for us as adults.
If you’re on this website reading this article now, you have that yearning. Something inside you is stirring for a change. Maybe just the gym, maybe something else. Search within yourself and find out what it is, and take that first step.
Ask yourself if this statement fits you. “The biggest mistakes I’ve made are not doing”. It all begins one step at a time.